Quote:
Originally Posted by Johnny Socko
Guys, I've just been catching up on the thread after a regrettably long absence, and I wanted to comment on Colonial House. My cousin has lived in this building for about 15 years, and as you can imagine it has been my pleasure to visit her there whenever possible. Her unit is a 3br/2ba, with a massive living room & dining room, plus an enclosed sunroom/conservatory leading to a small exterior patio.
The building still attracts its share of celebrity tenants, but the atmosphere is nicely relaxed. Interior detail of the units is as shown in the photo, with high ceilings & arched entryways (although no two layouts are the same). The building still has its original elevator, a very small, wood-paneled cab with brass fittings and a pull-to-open exterior door on each landing (the interior door is sliding).
The lobby atrium is marble-floored, but it's surprisingly small and low-key; this is no grand entrance. I suppose the apartments themselves were intended to be the draw.
And for perspective, note that Colonial House is a few lots down from the site of the Garden of Allah, highlighted here: http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...postcount=2114
My aforementioned cousin has the book "The Garden of Allah" written by Sheilah Graham in 1970. According to my cousin, "Graham met F. Scott Fitzgerald there in Robert Benchley's apartment and had an affair with him for years. In the book, she talks about how people staying at the Garden used to walk around the corner to visit friends at the Colonial House."
Just a bit of "inside baseball" for you all.  |
Being the "death hag" that I am (and also a Bette Davis fan), I am familiar with this building. I lived just a couple of blocks away on Sweetzer and my son worked in the strip mall just to the north of this building where the Garden of Allah was located.
Here is a link to FindADeath's page on Bette Davis.
http://www.findadeath.com/Deceased/d...ette_davis.htm There are photos of the interior of her apartment and some other photos of the building. Jamie Lee Curtis was the president of the HOA of Colonial House when Bette lived there.
Jamie Lee Curtis was once asked, "What is first thing that comes to mind when you hear the name Bette Davis?"
"Heat. I have to qualify this. I was president of the homeowners association at the Colonial House in West Hollywood where she lived. I would get calls from her. (Jamie impersonates Bette Davis' voice) "Hello. Jamie. This is Bette Davis. It's too cold. I want the heat." I'd say, "Miss Davis, I understand you are chilly, but its July. I can't in good conscience go to the board of directors and say that we're going to turn on the heat and charge people for heat in July in Southern California. I really would suggest you get a heater or plug ins." She'd answer, "It's too expensive on my electric bill."